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pros/cons of hotel reception vs Roundhouse Depot (Huntsville)

My fiance and I like the idea of having our reception at the Roundhouse Depot in Huntsville, but having just attended 2 weddings recently, we've seen how stressful it can be when having to worry about outside caterers, decorating, renting chairs/linens, etc....it just seems like such a hassle. We now are interested in having it at a hotel where everything is included. Has anyone had their reception at a hotel? Any thoughts? Is the extra cost worth it?

Re: pros/cons of hotel reception vs Roundhouse Depot (Huntsville)

Hey there! I live in Alabama, but am getting married in New Orleans and went back and forth on this forever for our wedding coming up in March. I think I found something in the middle. Hotels can be great, because everything is one place, but as we all know sometimes those ballrooms can lack charm and character without a ton of expensive decorations (although I do love some lighting with the monogram on the floor!). But then the places with character (went to a few receptions in Huntsville at the Art Museum), didn't have everything in one place. So, we picked a huge restaurant with a very cool balcony that had a lot of character. So they are going to do the food, drink, linens, glasses/dishes, cake, etc...and we don't feel like we are losing the character. Hope that helps, I so know where you are!!

I was the MOH in a wedding that was held at the Redmont Hotel in Birmingham. It was great since everything was on site but it was also EXPENSIVE!! Some of the hotel ball rooms have such massively tall ceilings that everything that you put in there looks dwarfed and the room looks empty. So my friend spent tons of money on very tall flower arrangements for centerpieces and lighting to make it more intimate. Since the hotel is a historic building, it had plenty of charm and character but it was like you couldnt make the room look full. That was my only issue ... other than that, the convenience was great and definitely helped with the bride's stress level. She worked with one person at the hotel and then a few outside vendors but not many.

Have you looked into Annabella's in Huntsville? That's where I'm getting married in May. They offer a wide variety of services on site, but we're bringing in most of the vendors on our own. They also offer discounts if you use the vendors that they provide.

Check out the Huntsville Country Club...sounds like they may be able to help you at a price more reasonable than several of the hotels in Huntsville. They will do all the extras and the food is good. They are easy to work with as well.

I ditto a country club. I'm getting married in Auburn, and the hotels/ conference centers around here are outrageously priced. I also wanted just one vendor, so I went to one of the golf courses. Everything is included in the price - they even do the decorating for me. They will also allow us to go out on the course for pictures...I would look into your option there.

We had our reception at the Roundhouse. We looked at the Westin and it is beautiful, but much more expensive than we could afford. Food and drinks really add up quickly at a place like that ($7 a drink!), so the fact that we could buy our own alcohol (Sams and on base) really was the deciding factor for us. The Roundhouse will set up tables for you before hand, but chairs, linens, tableware, etc is definitely a job. You'll have to hire a DOC (or find a bunch of volunteers), but we found that this cost was worth it in the end.

P.S. I will also say that I think the Roundhouse has a lot more character than most of the other options in Huntsville, even the Westin. The dark brick walls and string lights are so beautiful at night. We got so many compliments the location! It leaves your guests with a feeling that it was a "different" wedding, and I really liked that.

I am getting married in June and having the reception at the Roundhouse. I haven't been that stressed about things. We rented all the tables, linens, chinese lanters, etc. from Party Pros and they will deliver them all the day before the wedding. Also, our caterer has done A LOT of events at the roundhouse and knows the "lay of the land."

While hotels might provide everything, it ends up costing more in the end. By doing a lot ourselves we are saving money AND we have an AWESOME location that not everyone chooses. Hotel ballrooms just seem so "blah" to me.

I don't know how big your wedding is going to be, but check out "The Summit". It is on top of the RBC building next to the civic center. We looked at this location for the reception and it is AMAZING!!!! Its not very prices and they provide the tables and chairs.. it just isn't a lot of space for a larger (200+ sit down dinner) reception.

I went to a summer reception at the Roundhouse and it wasn't too hot. If you do the hotel, they will charge you through the roof on food and drinks. My suggestion with the Roundhouse would be to use a lot of lighting because it gets really dark in the evening.